It Took a Pandemic to Show Us That.....

t took a pandemic to show us that we need the world and the world needs us - There is a common need for protections in this world which has led us to imagine and create alliances and organizations, sign treaties, and make agreements with singular purposes: to provide military defense, support balanced and fair trade policies, one that recognizes and will work to address the impacts of climate change effecting everyone on this earth, and most importantly, an organization to protect our health.
     An isolated country is disadvantaged if facing a world-wide crisis. For that reason, organizations like the United Nations, The North American Treaty Organization (NATO), and The Organization of American States (OAS) were created to protect the United States (and the world) from political and military aggression. International trade agreements like the recently-passed United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) and ongoing trade negotiations with China and other countries demonstrate our commitment to pursuing more balanced, fair trade arrangements, and as a founding member of The Paris Agreement, took the first major step to protect us from the effects of climate change. Finally, The World Health Organization (WHO) was established to monitor and protect the world’s health against dangerous illnesses.
     Recently, all of these organizations have come under fire for being too costly to the U.S. , outdated, and ineffective. Several years ago, our position in the Paris Agreement was totally abandoned, with the U.S. abdicating its leadership role entirely. We CANNOT let the same thing happen with the others, especially the World Health Organization.
     There are valid concerns regarding the costs and performance of these organization, frequent review would lead to improvement but dismissing their critically-important work, or threatening to and actually withdrawing vital funding, will work against us when facing a common threat that strikes regardless of nationality, race, age, gender, or political party affiliation.

     It took a pandemic to show us that we need a strong federal government - Rather, along with strong leadership, we need one that takes direct, decisive actions to protect its citizenry. It is exactly what is needed to harness the incredible power of our military and economy to do what needs to be done.